HideandSeek
by Oh Em Gawd
Summary: Sephiroth's determined to find Vincent once and for all.


**Author's Note:** You know, as usual, I am always doing a request. And yet again, it's for Raffi. 'Cause I can never get enough of it And she's always doing me favors. And I married her. 33 Darlin' knows I love her forever But um, yeah. Random hide-and-seek going on, but it's kind of angsty, and...I don't know. Just read.

**Summary:** Sephiroth intends to finally end the game of hide-and-seek.

**Disclaimer:** Don't own any characters, yadda yadda yadda.

* * *

It had been a while since Sephiroth and Vincent last met. The last member of the Hojo clan had made the transition from toddler to child before the Turk was put to sleep. Sephiroth didn't know that, however. He just figured that Mr. Valentine had forgotten that he was still hiding. For a long, long time.

After spending most of his life in SOLDIER, he seemed to forget all about his past life. About living in a laboratory, and his birth mother, Lucretia. He forgot a lot of things. The only mother he knew now was JENOVA, and he was determined to find her, and to never lose her. Of course, Angeal and Genesis found him crazy, but what did he care? He had a motive.

It wasn't until a mission in Nibelheim that his past life came back to him. Walking into that Shin-Ra mansion was a bad idea. It was filled with memories of his maniac father coming here, and staying for weeks at a time. It was where he'd spent all his time as a child, deep in the basement, observing how Mako changes others. But…he could have sworn that he never entered this small village before. How was it possible?

Perhaps it was fate. Sephiroth approached the downward spiral of stairs, but something caught his eyes before he reached it. A safe? Why, he hadn't remembered that from his childhood. But, seeing the amount of dust and the condition it was in, it had to have been no older than him. Curiosity getting the better of him, he used one of the tactics learned back in cadet times, and placed his ear to it, turning the dial until he heard the right click, before moving onto the next number. There were four numbers: right thirty-six, left ten, right fifty-nine, right ninety-seven.

Ping! A golden key appeared from the safe, along with a note. His father's handwriting, but it was written in Wutaian, so he paid it no mind and moved on. He backtracked into the previous room and jumped down the center of the staircase, down to the bottom floor. When he landed, he appeared in front of an old, rotting wood door. The lock was still functional, however, and he figured the golden key would work. A clink and pop explained that it was open, and with a swift push, the door was open.

Sephiroth's eyes quickly focused on the center coffin. Something was different about that one. He could feel an aura, an eminence, coming from it. It seemed so familiar; it made him cautious. Still, he approached it, just to get a better view.

Hmph. It looked ordinary enough. It hadn't been touched in who knew how long, but it seemed brand new, too. Who would buy a new coffin just to stick it in a basement? So they could use it later? That didn't make much sense. Still, his curiosity got the better of him yet again, and he placed a hand on the top of it. "Ha, I must be losing it," he said aloud. "I thought I felt it move."

"You did," a voice said from somewhere within the room, and slowly but surely the coffin lid moved aside, and an arm raised from it, grabbing the side of it, pulling the rest of the body up. It appeared to be a man around his age, if not older, with long, silky noir hair, and piercing red eyes. A gauntlet adorned his left arm, and he was covered with leather. A red cloak was wrapped around him, and he looked like something from the underworld. Yet, Sephiroth wasn't afraid. This man looked familiar; it sparked something within him that he hadn't felt since childhood. Yet who was he?

Pointy gold boots crawled out of the coffin, and the undead stretched, figuring that the silver-haired invader would stay for a while, until he figured out who he was. Oh, that amused him. Suddenly, his mind had flashbacks, and he cradled his head with a hand, while certain memories replayed in his mind. _Ah,_ he thought, _so it is him…Lucretia's child._ Red eyes raised to green ones, and sparks transferred. Sephiroth was the one to speak first, the vampire observing quietly. "Valentine, you son-of-a-bitch."

Vincent didn't respond when a gloved arm grabbed him by the cloak, pulling him close. "So this is where you've been hiding for the past thirty years." He didn't wish to respond; he figured that this would be something more to atone for. Was Hojo continuing to punish him, by sending his son? He was thrown against one of the older caskets, and his head started to pound; he continued to stay quiet, until the SOLDIER finished asking questions. "Why'd you come here?" By now, Sephiroth had pounced on him, like a lion catching their prey. "Why didn't you come back?"

"I didn't have the opportunity," he whispered, using his gauntlet to capture Sephiroth, ripping some of the clasps off his jacket. "Your father…"

"I don't want to hear that," he shouted, threatening to spit in his face. "Excuses." Yeah, he did want to hear the explanation, but not at that exact moment.

"Well, I guess you could think of it as a long game of hide-and-seek, then," Valentine smiled. "You win." A smile appeared on Sephiroth's face, and he slapped the smirk appearing on Vincent's. "You little bitch," he laughed. "That's not funny." Laughter filled the manor just for a moment, before Valentine pushed the SOLDIER off of him, and headed toward his coffin.

"Well, just where do you think you're going?" Sephiroth asked, clearly not ready to stop the entertainment so soon. "That wasn't the answer I was trying to find." Valentine gave a flick of his wrist, some attempt at a wave, and went back into the coffin, preparing to lie down and go back into his endless sleep. "Coward, you couldn't think of anything?" The vampire closed his eyes, and grabbed the coffin lid, putting it back on its proper resting place. "Damn you," he said under his breath, before heading out the door, and locking it. A hearty laugh echoed through the wall, but it died out when Sephiroth kicked the door. "Shut up!"

Now Sephiroth knew why he came. Valentine had led him down to this piss shit excuse of a manor, as a parting gift. What a poor excuse of a guardian.


End file.
